Impressions Matter – the Shure Beta 58A

As a recording artist, I always marvel at the way I use the various instruments to my advantage. The sound that comes out of these instruments adds to my voice, and the result is just awesome. Right before I delved into music, one of my mentors told me the only way to get awesome music is to use only the best equipment. One such mic that I found to be top of the pack is the Shure Beta 58A mic.

This mic is a handheld dynamic microphone ideal for both male and female voices, whether you are belting out a slow, romantic melody or hitting the highs in a rock and roll tune, this mic is the king.

First Impression

When I first opened the box, the weight only made me think no way such a light mic could give me the punch I needed but I was wrong. The design is awesome, and it fits my hand so perfectly. Apart from a great design, you can hammer nails with it (not literally, of course) because it is hardy and withstands the test of harsh conditions.

The first thing I noticed about the Shure Beta 58A is the high, crispy clear sound. The sound was so high that I expected boominess and feedback, but alas, the use of the supercardioid polar pattern keeps the signal so tight that it eliminates any sounds originating from the rear or the sides. At first, I didn’t notice a tiny detail about the Shure Beta that made it a darling globally. One time I listened keenly and got it – the super-high gain that came just before feedback that made each given performance a hit.

Producing great sound isn’t enough for a mic, the mic you have ought to stand up to the game, pub after pub, stage after stage, town after town and city after city.to borrow from Shure’s long history of dependability, the Beta 58A gives you just that.

The performance of the mic is not affected in any way by rough handling due to its rugged construction. Therefore, whether you hold the mic in your hand or go ahead and mount it on a stand, you still achieve the kind of sound that you planned.

Precious Midrange Lift

I haven’t heard this with other mics, maybe counterparts from Shure. However, when using the Shure Beta, I noticed the little midrange lift in the frequency response. This lift occurred smack on the middle of the vocal frequency spectrum (50Hz – 16 kHz). You get to hear it loud and clear.

I would advise you though, if you want to make maximum use of the wide frequencies, make sure you consider your voice timbre and genre of music. This is because these two affect the performance of the microphone and how you will sound.

Hit The Highs – You Have a Cushion

This mic is innovatively designed to handle the high sounds from your amp and guitar. The design makes use of an internal shock-mount system that handles the noise. To make this better, the steel mesh grille is lined with a foam pop filter that allows you to hit the highs, so, get rocking (and rolling) without any hesitation; Shure Beta58A has your back.

I remember this one time when we were on stage strumming, singing and drumming away when all of a sudden my bass guitar player decided to let it rip. He just got so engrossed in the heat of the moment that he decided to be twice as loud. Nothing changed, as I learnt later, the supercardioid pattern rejected the loud peripheral vocals and minimized the feedback like a champ. We got to know about the incident later when he narrated the issue to us.

You might argue that you can still hit the highs using the SM58, but remember the 58A comes with a neodymium magnet, which is more sensitive as compared to the SM58. To be more specific, the output of the beta 58A is 4 decibels higher than its predecessor.

Enhance Your Vocals

I have a softer mellow voice, so my aim was to get a mic that could enhance my vocals in the studio. I tried several other mics but found them wanting. For one, I had to be as close to the mic for these mics to pick my voice and amp it up. The first time I tried the beta 58A I was blows away by the crispy clear sound. In addition, when I cranked the gain a little bit higher, there was no hissing from the speakers. I realized that even when I stayed 1 to 2 inches away from the mic, my voice still came out clear.

The sensitivity is out of this world. This enabled me to change the sound and the feel by distance and positioning.

Got a Band? Get a Few More of These

I don’t work solo all the time, I work with a small band, practicing in the basement for upcoming shows. My backup singer, who doubles as a drummer, has a deep voice that isn’t that strong. We needed a microphone that has a narrower pattern so that it doesn’t pick up a lot of the percussion sounds from the drum. Using this mic picked up the vocals and projected them much better, adding substance to the whole remix. A very interesting side note is when we went to listen in to one of the top bands in the city, we noticed right away that the lead vocalist was using a Shure Beta 58A and he sounded so great.

Well, I have used this mic for live gigs using just an acoustic guitar, and I’ve also used it for practice with my 6 piece band. Either way, it beat any other mic I have used hands down.

The Lowdown

As we speak, I’m planning to purchase another Shure Beta 58A mic just so that when I need an extra singer, I have one of the best mics ready. The Beta 58A makes me want to belt out tune after tune, now the band hates me for making them perform longer. However, they like the fact that they get a superb response after each gig. Even on small stages, I still get the response I want. My mic has kissed the floor so many times to the extent that if it were just another mic, it would be history. But since it is so hardy, it has stood the test of so many bumps and drops.